First and foremost, let me say congratulations to the North Carolina Tar Heels for winning
the NCAA national championship in men’s basketball. They were a great team. Also, congratulations to Roy Williams on winning his third title. I have a soft spot for Ol’ Roy. He salvaged my Jayhawks from a potential pitfall back in 1989 when he took over as coach at the University of Kansas. He did a great job and I appreciated all his years of coaching. One of my greatest childhood memories is meeting Roy when I was delivering the Lawrence Journal-World newspaper to the University of Kansas athletic offices. My paper route, which I shared with my sister, was the entire University of Kansas campus.

But the national championship game was horrible.

It was exactly what a basketball game should not be. A plodding spectacle of whistles and blown calls. In a good basketball game you hardly notice the officials; they blend into the contours of the game. In this national championship game you hardly noticed the players; they were hidden behind the noise of the officials.

Meeks out of bounds as he ties-up the ball.

In just the last five minutes the officials assumed a three point shot had been tipped by the defender because it was such a bad shot (they were wrong); they reviewed a garden variety foul and called a phantom flagrant 1; they called a tie-up when one of the players was partially laying out of bounds (and they didn’t review even though the rules would have permitted); they called the ball in play even though a player landed with it out of bounds; and they let a player inbound the ball without ever stepping out of bounds.

My impression is that the officials were trying so hard to make the big calls in the big game that they failed to make the correct calls. They made up calls that were not there and they failed to call the little things that were.

The best officials do not step up their play when they officiate a big game; that is how you let a game get away from you. The best officials treat every game the same. It should not matter if you are officiating middle school B-teams or the NCAA national championship; the game is the same. When you treat one game as special, then you have already lost the ability to officiate it properly.

Now, it’s a lot easier to say that from the comfort of my couch then when you are standing in front of 40,000 people with a whistle around your neck. But it is a universal principal.

We need to treat every moment of every day with the importance it deserves. When we treat some moments as more important than others, then we lose the ability to live life in every moment. Every moment is special; we each have a finite number of them. The best way to make the most of thebig moments, is to approach every moment with same amount of respect. Do not try to make the big call in the big moment of life, try to make the right call in every moment. You won’t always succeed, but when the big moments come, you’ll have a better chance of being great.

One of the principles key to the protestant reformation was the idea of Sola Scriptura: that the Bible is sufficient of itself to be the source of Christian doctrine. John Wesley further clarified this idea when he stated, “In all cases, the Church is to be judged by the Scripture, not the Scripture by the Church.”[1] However, at some level, all Christians are forced to make some judgment about the scripture in the form of interpretation.

How is a person to interpret the scriptures? “Wesley believed that the living core of the Christian faith was revealed in Scripture, illumined by tradition, vivified in personal experience, and confirmed by reason. Scripture [however] is primary, revealing the Word of God ‘so far as it is necessary for our salvation.’”[2] This idea is more commonly known as the Wesleyan Quadrilateral; every person forms their theology through scripture, tradition, reason, and experience. Theology is at its best when all four areas are attended to.

As we look at the debates over science in the late 19th and early 20th century it is easy to see that many of the warring factions clung to one corner of the quadrilateral. Many of these groups were unwilling to explore how the other three points of the quadrilateral would affect their theology.

In the early 20th century there were two extreme camps and (as usual) the majority in the middle. The first extreme was the group that believed that the end of religion was in sight. This group, inspired by the enlightenment, believed that humanity was moving out of an age of religion and into an age of reason. Inspired by Darwinian evolution, scientists such as John Wesley Powell believed that religion was a necessary step in the evolution of ethics. Humanity needed to go through the process of creating and living out religion in order to develop morality; now that this morality had developed religion would be allowed to fade away and it could be replaced by science. Powell called this “the metamorphosis wrought on religion by science.”[3]

The other extreme is exemplified by characters such as T. DeWitt Talmage (a popular preacher) and William Jennings Bryan (a lawyer and politician). Talmage spoke vehemently against evolution because he believed the Bible contradicted evolutionary theory. He said, “I do not care so much where I came from as where I am going to.”[4]

Bryan, in his written out but undelivered closing statement at the Scopes trial, spoke eloquently of the evils science has wrought upon the world. He then got to the heart of his message:

The world needs a saviour more than it ever did before, and there is only one name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. It is this name that evolution degrades, for, carried to its logical conclusion, it robs Christ of the glory of a Virgin birth, of the majesty of His deity and mission, and of the triumph of His resurrection.[5]

Both Talmage and Bryant felt that science was not only wrong, but was a danger to the gospel message of Jesus Christ.

Many people stood between these two poles; among them James Cardinal Gibbons (a Roman Catholic Cardinal), Joseph Le Conte (a professor of geology), and James McCosh (a Presbyterian clergyman). Each of these individuals believed that science, rather than being a threat to Christianity, was in fact a blessing. Le Conte wrote, “In every case Christianity has risen from the contest stronger and purer”[6]. Cardinal Gibbons wrote:

Science and Religion…are sisters, because they are daughters of the same Father…Now since reason and revelation aid each other in leading us to god, the Author of both, it is manifest that the Catholic Church, so far from being opposed to the cultivation of reason, encourages and fosters science of every kind.[7]

This group was enabled to see scientific advance as a blessing because they were not trying to defend the Bible. They felt that the Bible could defend herself. Rather this middle group of people was attempting to understand the truths God was speaking to them through the Bible by first understanding a little better the world around them.
Can a conclusion for today’s young scientists be made? What are the lessons we can learn from our past? I would suggest that we need to stay rooted in the biblical revelation, our ecclesial traditions, human understanding, and the experiences which we and the spiritual community around us live out. At the same time we need to allow ourselves to explore ideas that make us uncomfortable. Evolution was a very uncomfortable idea for many in the early 20th century because it forced a drastic shift in worldview. It changed completely the way they thought the world worked.

As we move forward into this young 21st century we need to be prepared for the day when we realize that we are wrong. We need to prepare for a time when our worldview, our personal paradigm, is forced to shift and completely rearrange our perception of how the world works. When this happens, we can remain grounded in our faith by recognizing that God has not changed; it is only our perception that has changed.

Endnotes

[1] Popery Calmly Considered (1779) in The works of the Rev. John Wesley, vol. XV, p. 180, London (1812)

I had the opportunity to make short presentation on the history of money this last week. Below is the main slide from the presentation as well as an outline of the information provided. I did not have enough time to practice as much as I would like, but overall the presentation went pretty well.

What is Money?

Medium of exchange

Unit of measurement

Store of value

A Brief History of Money:

Bartering

Direct trade of goods and services

Skins, salt, weapons became common exchange units

Weapons and cutlery as a unit of exchange

China 1100 BCE

Miniatures representing real items

Cutting edges replaced with circles

Simplified to first pseudo-coins

First coins minted in Lydia (western turkey) in 600 BCE

Electrum (natural alloy of silver and gold)

Trite was stamped with picture of a lion

Reports of value vary may have been as high 10 sheep/11 goats or as low as three jars of wine

About that same time China began printing the first notes (paper money)

One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her. 2 The people of Gaza were told, “Samson is here!” So they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They made no move during the night, saying, “At dawn we’ll kill him.” 3 But Samson lay there only until the middle of the night. Then he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.– Judge 16:1-3

Der geblendete Simson by Lovis Corinth (1912)

25 While they were in high spirits, they shouted, “Bring out Samson to entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he performed for them. When they stood him among the pillars,26 Samson said to the servant who held his hand, “Put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple, so that I may lean against them.” 27 Now the temple was crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform. 28 Then Samson prayed to the Lord, “Sovereign Lord, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.” 29 Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other, 30 Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived.– Judges 16:25-30

***

As a kid in Sunday School they probably taught about Samson once a year. It was always a very sanitized version of the story, and I do not recall the teacher ever reading any of it out of the Bible. The lesson always revolved around Samson losing his powers when his hair was cut and then getting his powers back when he asked God. I look back in horror at the teacher who taught that Samson was analogous to Jesus in that he sacrificed himself, and the teacher that taught Samson got his powers back because the Philistines allowed time for his hair to grow back.

Samson was a horrible person who did very bad things, and that is how we should teach him. He was faithless, deceptive, arrogant, self-centered, and hot-headed (to name a few traits).

Many people are called into leadership positions. Frequently leaders use their power and authority to work in the best interest of those around them. However, there will always be leaders, like Samson, who use their position to visit prostitutes (literally or metaphorically), pick fights, and bring about destruction. These leaders may be moving the group in a desired direction; but their failures will ultimately cause harm to the group

As Christians we need to be careful in the selection and maintenance of our leaders.

Follow God’s Leading – Do not pick the person you think should be your leader. Pick the person God is calling to be your leader. God knows more than you know and God knows more than I know. I have seen destructive individuals placed into leadership because people thought they knew what kind of leader they needed when in fact God was calling someone else. If you find yourself playing politics in church, then you are not following God’s leading.

Pray – Pray for your leaders before you know who they are. Pray for your prospective leaders when deciding who should lead. Pray for your leaders while they are leading. Pray for your leaders after they are gone. Your relationship with your leaders does not begin when they show up and does not end when they leave. It is eternal in both directions.

Require Accountability – Many leaders do not like being accountable. Some leaders will even establish policies which give the appearance of holding them accountable, but which truly exist to avoid accountability. Require that your leaders be accountable to someone. A leader either needs to choose a suitable accountability partner or be assigned one.

Do Not Allow Destructive Patterns – One mistake is a data point, two mistakes is a pattern. If a leader repeats the same mistake, they should be removed from leadership.

Samson could have been a great leader. He had the abilities and gifts to be the greatest Judge the Israelites had ever known. But Samson squandered his gifts and abilities. He engaged in sinful behaviors which brought shame and destruction on Israel. Samson had no accountability and he knew it. Samson was a horrible leader and those in leadership today should learn from his example so we do not repeat it.

Application:

Work with the leaders in your church to establish a leadership training plan.

Write down all of the leaders from your past and present; then pray for each of them.

Write down leadership positions in your life and church; pray for the future leaders in those positions.

Write down the potential future leaders in your life. Do one thing this week to encourage them.

When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him. And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him mightily so that the ropes that were on his arms were as flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds dropped from his hands. 15 He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, so he reached out and took it and killed a thousand men with it. 16 Then Samson said, “With the jawbone of a donkey, Heaps upon heaps, With the jawbone of a donkey I have killed a thousand men.” 17 When he had finished speaking, he threw the jawbone from his hand; and he named that place Ramath-lehi. 18 Then he became very thirsty, and he called to the LORD and said, “You have given this great deliverance by the hand of Your servant, and now shall I die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” 19 But God split the hollow place that is in Lehi so that water came out of it. When he drank, his strength returned and he revived. Therefore he named it En-hakkore, which is in Lehi to this day. – Judges 15:14-19

***

As a kid I remember the story of Sampson. As it was told to me, Sampson was a man of God who defended Israel from the Philistines who wanted to destroy Israel. His wicked wife tricked him into giving away the secret of his power, his long hair, and his enemies cut his hair and robbed him of his power. Samson then trusted in God one last time and sacrificed himself in order to destroy Israel’s enemies.

The only problem with this version of the story is that it is totally wrong. Samson was a petty, deceptive, manipulative, capricious, violent, intransigent, vindictive, foolish, womanizer.

From before he was born, Samson was set aside to be someone special. The faith of his mother caused him to be blessed by God, and set him in place to be a Judge for Israel. Over and over again God gave Samson opportunities which he squandered. Even when Samson appears to have been faithful to God’s calling he acts like a child. In the above passage Samson becomes angry with God, because after he has slaughtered “a thousand men” he is thirsty and God has not immediately provided a beverage.

No complaining! by Jean Browman

Have you met people like that in your life? People who continuously gripe and complain to God about not having something, and then it seems that God goes ahead and gives it to them anyway.

Based upon the scripture as a whole, I would say that Samson’s attitude in this passage is not to be normative; in general we should not act like Samson. However, sometimes God uses obnoxious people.

I encourage you to live a life of peace, simplicity, integrity, and humility; because, maybe then your last act won’t be to pull a house down on you and your enemies. Of course, there are no guarantees.

Application:

Go out of your way to bless an obnoxious person this week.

Write down the last time you childishly complained to God about not meeting your needs.

Set the goal for the next week of having a fantastic attitude; no matter what happens.

Queries:

Do others perceive you as obnoxious?

Who are the obnoxious people in your life that God seems to use and bless?

Why might it be better to live a life of peace, simplicity, integrity, and humility rather than living as a petty, deceptive, manipulative, capricious, violent, intransigent, vindictive, foolish, womanizer?

Then Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother, and came as far as the vineyards of Timnah; and behold, a young lion came roaring toward him. 6 The Spirit of the LORD came upon him mightily, so that he tore him as one tears a young goat though he had nothing in his hand; but he did not tell his father or mother what he had done. 7 So he went down and talked to the woman; and she looked good to Samson. 8 When he returned later to take her, he turned aside to look at the carcass of the lion; and behold, a swarm of bees and honey were in the body of the lion. 9 So he scraped the honey into his hands and went on, eating as he went. When he came to his father and mother, he gave some to them and they ate it; but he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey out of the body of the lion.

10 Then his father went down to the woman; and Samson made a feast there, for the young men customarily did this. 11 When they saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him. 12 Then Samson said to them, “Let me now propound a riddle to you; if you will indeed tell it to me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen wraps and thirty changes of clothes. 13 “But if you are unable to tell me, then you shall give me thirty linen wraps and thirty changes of clothes.” And they said to him, “Propound your riddle, that we may hear it.” 14 So he said to them, “Out of the eater came something to eat, And out of the strong came something sweet.” But they could not tell the riddle in three days.

15 Then it came about on the fourth day that they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband, so that he will tell us the riddle, or we will burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you invited us to impoverish us? Is this not so?” 16 Samson’s wife wept before him and said, “You only hate me, and you do not love me; you have propounded a riddle to the sons of my people, and have not told it to me.” And he said to her, “Behold, I have not told it to my father or mother; so should I tell you?” 17 However she wept before him seven days while their feast lasted. And on the seventh day he told her because she pressed him so hard. She then told the riddle to the sons of her people. 18 So the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, “What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?” And he said to them, “If you had not plowed with my heifer, You would not have found out my riddle.” 19 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon him mightily, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of them and took their spoil and gave the changes of clothes to those who told the riddle. And his anger burned, and he went up to his father’s house. – Judges 14:5-19

***

Samson Slaying a Philistine – Giambologna (1562)

The book of Judges is the story of the downward spiral in the quality, morality, and ability of the leaders of Israel. The institute of Judge was established as an ad hoc chieftain who could lead God’s people when they face times of conflict or difficulty. A Judge would be called up by God to lead the people into war, into reformation, into repentance, and into reconstruction.

Samson was the final Judge. Before he was born he was set apart and dedicated to God. In turn, God blessed Samson with incredible strength and ability. Unfortunately, Samson was lacking in other leadership qualities.

There are two repeated phrases in this passage which bear mentioning. The first is “the Spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily”, and the second is “he did not tell”.

“The Spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily” is first used when Samson is attached by the lion. My reading of this passage is not that Samson was suddenly energized by God, but rather that Samson used his strength and power (which he had received as a blessing from God based upon his mother’s faith) to defend himself. The phrase is used again at the end of the passage when Samson goes to Ashkelon to kill thirty people and fulfill his wager. In this case Samson is using God’s gifts to act out petty vengeance to fulfill a childish wager.

The phrase “he did not tell” is first after killing the lion. The author makes a specific point that Samson did not tell his father or mother what he had done. My reading would be that Samson was too engrossed in pursuing the Philistine woman as his bride. The second time Samson “did not tell” is when he revisits the lion carcass and eats honey found in it, sharing this honey with his parents. It may not need to be said, but eating honey from a lion’s corpse would be considered unclean (both literally and theologically). This is Samson’s second act of uncleanliness in just this passage. The first is marrying a Philistine woman, as God has instructed the Israelites not to intermarry with the neighboring clans.

by Heath Brandon

In summary, Samson pursues the sin of marrying a Philistine. He then sins by eating unclean honey and compounds his sin by sharing it with his unknowing parents causing them to sin. Finally, Samson makes fun of his sin with his riddle-wager and uses his God-given powers to cover his foolish sin.

It is far too easy to follow the example of Samson. When we see something we want, it is easier to begin pursuing that thing, rather than evaluating if it is what God wants. When we feel a need, such as hunger, it is easier to grab the nearest snack, rather than considering if this is what God wants us to put into our bodies. When we are with our friends and families we often try to push them toward the sins we are committing; it is easier to sin when we are all sinning together. When we are caught in sin it is easier to mock or flaunt the sin rather than deal with the true consequences. Finally, when we are called to pay for our sin, it is easier to make someone else suffer the consequences. Do not follow the example of Samson.

All of us have God given talents, abilities, and characteristics which we can use to either build up the kingdom of God or to pursue our own selfish (sometimes foolish) pursuits. We are called by God to make the areas in which we are blessed a blessing to others. You have some exceptional talent, ability, or characteristic; please do not follow the example of Samson; rather, use your blessings to bless others and honor God.

So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering and offered it on the rock to the LORD, and He performed wonders while Manoah and his wife looked on. 20 For it came about when the flame went up from the altar toward heaven, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground. 21 Now the angel of the LORD did not appear to Manoah or his wife again. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the LORD. 22 So Manoah said to his wife, “We will surely die, for we have seen God.” 23 But his wife said to him, “If the LORD had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things, nor would He have let us hear things like this at this time.” 24 Then the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson; and the child grew up and the LORD blessed him. – Judges 13:19-24 (NASB)

***

I am a big fan of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral (WQ). In a nut shell, the WQ says that our faith is formed by a combination of four elements: scripture, tradition, reason, and experience (including experiences of the Holy Spirit). When I have introduced Christians to the concept of the WQ they tend to bristle at the thought of one of those elements being the foundation of their faith; but it is a different element for everyone. Some want to reject tradition, saying that instead we should abandon all tradition and go back to the first century church. Others want to reject experience, saying that our experience is fallible and should not be foundational to our faith. I, personally, have the least comfort with including reason as I have seen damaging theologies emerge from trying to “figure out” God. However, in the end, I believe all four elements are foundational to faith and I believe that our faith is formed be the interplay of all four elements.

In the sight of God by Leonardo

The story of Manoah and his wife is a wonderful example of the interplay between the different elements of the WQ. Manoah speaks from scripture a tradition. He knows that Exodus 33:20 taught that those who see God would die. He also knew of the cultural traditions around him that spoke of the dangers of interacting with a deity. The gods of the Ancient Near-East tended to be violent and capricious; a dangerous combination for anyone mortal who may encounter a deity.

Meanwhile, Manoah’s wife, unnamed in the Bible but traditionally known as Hazelelponi (“shade coming upon me”), speaks from reason and experience. He husbands yells, “we will surely die”, and she examines the situation and makes the reasonable deduction that if God had wanted to kill them, God would have done it already. Hazelelponi also has the advantage of past experience; the Angel of the Lord had first appeared to Hazelelponi alone (v3 ff). Hazelelponi had previous experience with the voice of God and so was more easily able to put this new experience into context.

Brittle Heart by Doran

Taking some time to evaluate our beliefs in the light of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral can help us to have a more fully formed faith. It can help us to overcome obstacles to our faith, and assist us as we struggle with doubts and concerns. An attitude of “The Bible says it, I believe it, that settles it” can lead to a brittle faith. I believe that taking the time to understand faith within the context of reason, personal experiences, and the broader faith tradition is hard, but builds a more robust faith.

Application:

Write down the part of the quadrilateral that you struggle with the most (scripture, tradition, reason, or experience). Why is this part of the quadrilateral problematic for you?

Write out why others might struggle with the other three aspects of the quadrilateral.

This week, when you encounter someone with a different belief, consider what scriptures, traditions, experiences, or logical reasoning would cause that person to believe in that way.

The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan opposite Ephraim. And it happened when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead would say to him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,” then they would say to him, “Say now, ‘Shibboleth.’” But he said, “Sibboleth,” for he could not pronounce it correctly. Then they seized him and slew him at the fords of the Jordan. Thus there fell at that time 42,000 of Ephraim. – Judges 12:5-6 (NASB)

***

The Battle of Lawrence

When I was six years old my family moved within six blocks of Allen Field House on the campus of the University of Kansas. I never really had a chance of being anything but a rabid fan of the Kansas Jayhawks. You can tell a Kansas basketball fan from most other fans. There is a certain amount of pride, which borders on arrogance, which seeps into any discussion of college basketball. We know our history and take pride in the history of the Kansas basketball program. And we hate Missouri. It does not matter that Missouri has left the conference and we no longer play the program to the east, we still despise Missouri. For the historical roots of this rivalry take a moment to read about Quantrill’s raid and the burning of Lawrence.

In college sports we have devised a number of systems to make sure we can separate the strangers rooting for “our” team from the strangers rooting for “their” team. Kansas fans wear blue and red, Missouri fans wear yellow and black. Kansas fans rally around our Jayhawk mascot; Missouri fans rally around their tiger. Kansas fans chant “Rock Chalk” in the closing minutes each home victory; Missouri fans have little experience in celebrating the closing minutes of a home victory. We have developed systems to know who is on our side. Whenever I see a Kansas hat or shirt at the gas station or at work, I stop and make a positive comment to my fellow Jayhawk fan.

People are very good at spotting outsiders. There is something in our brains which cause us to make a nearly instantaneous decision that a person is “one of us” or “one of them”. This tendency is not limited to our college basketball affinities. In fact this tendency has a very dark side and has been a plague on humanity resulting in genocide, holocaust, enslavement, discrimination, and all sorts of evil.

Bronze by Jenny Downing

Our first instinct should not be to look for an outward sign to know if a new person is to be included or excluded. Rather, our first instinct should be to care for the stranger and meet their needs regardless of their affiliation. It does not matter if the stranger I meet is a part of a different group. The thing that matters is that we were both formed by our creator and placed on this earth under a divine mandate that we work with God to create a new and greater world. The strangers I meet are as fully known by God as my neighbors. My enemies are as loved by God as my family.

When I look at a Missouri fan, it is important that I first recognize that they are valued by God and they are worthy of my love, respect, and assistance. It does not matter if they say Shibboleth or Sibboleth; what matters is that I have an opportunity to reflect the light of Christ into their lives.

Application:

Write down all of the people you walked by today without acknowledging their humanity (take your time, you’ll be surprised how many there are).

Make a goal for one day each week, that on that day you will not let a person go by without acknowledging their value.

Reach out to an individual or group you would normally exclude and be a part of their lives for one evening.

Queries:

Who do I exclude?

Do my actions truly demonstrate that I believe all people are valuable and worthy of love, honor, and respect?

Do I actually help people? Do I only think about helping people? Do I even think about helping people?

Ben Harper was born in Pomona, California in 1969. His father was of African-American and Cherokee ancestry, his mother was of Russian-Lithuanian Jewish ancestry. Ben’s parents divorced in 1974 and he grew up with his mother and her parents. Ben’s grandparents’ owned a music store, The Folk Music Center and Museum, which was foundational to Ben’s development as a musician. Ben began his career in earnest in the early 1990s with the LP Pleasure and Pain and has since released a dozen albums.

His most recent album, Childhood Home, is a collection of duets sung with his mother, Ellen Harper. The Harper’s split the songwriting duties for the album; Ben penned 6 and Ellen the other four. The album seeks to speak to the good, bad, ugly and beautiful parts of home and family life. The lead track on the album, A House Is a Home, was written by Ben.

A House Is a Home written by Ben Harper, performed by Ben & Ellen Harper.

a house is a home even when it’s dark
even when the grass is overgrown in the yard
even when the dog is too old to bark
and when you’re sitting at the table trying not to starve

a house is a home
even when we’ve up and gone
even when you’re there alone
a house is a home

a house is a home even when there’s ghosts
even when you gotta run from the ones who love you most
screen door’s broken paint’s peeling from the wood
locals whisper when they gonna leave the neighborhood

a house is a home where the chores are never done
where you spend your whole life running to and from
and if the life that you live is not the life you choose
make your child a home and start anew

***

Old House by Singh

My grandparents’ house will always be a special home to me. The house I lived in when I was in elementary school will always be a special home to me. I have no idea who lives in these places now, or if these houses even still exist; but, the memories of those places will make them a home to me until the end of my days.

Rather than focusing on the nostalgia of the home, Harper focuses the first verse on the chaos that emerges when a house is no longer subject to the care that a home receives. The home that was once comforting is now filled with darkness, overgrown grass, and a dying dog. Rather than a place of plenty, this house has become a barren place, a place of want. There is no comfort in this house; yet it is still a home.

The second verse takes this idea further. No longer is the family merely struggling with want; now they are being persecuted. First by ghosts (perhaps memories of the glory days gone by), then by family and friends who once loved them, and finally by the neighbors’ gossip. What listener has not felt, or at the least imagined, a neighbor’s scornful looks and raised eyebrows at the rough edges of the house which the family has not been able to care for. The high weeds, the broken down cars, the old trash bags. Yet, even when persecuted, the house is still a place of refuge. The house is a home.

Aged by Nathaniel Zumbach

The third verse speaks to the rat race of life. The never ending line of dishes and laundry and chores. The mundane tasks that take up so much of your life that it seems there is nothing left with which you can pursue your real dreams. We are all trapped in the upkeep of our houses, of our homes, and none of us seems able to live the life we want. And so we have children, and so the cycle repeats.

The chorus comes in to emphasize the cyclical nature of the home. The house becomes a home for a time, then children grow up, parents grow old, grandparents die, and the house shutters itself up into a dark void until…the cycle repeats.

Jephthah made a vow to the LORD and said, “If You will indeed give the sons of Ammon into my hand, then it shall be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, it shall be the LORD’S, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.” So Jephthah crossed over to the sons of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD gave them into his hand. He struck them with a very great slaughter from Aroer to the entrance of Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim. So the sons of Ammon were subdued before the sons of Israel.

When Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah, behold, his daughter was coming out to meet him with tambourines and with dancing. Now she was his one and only child; besides her he had no son or daughter. When he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you are among those who trouble me; for I have given my word to the LORD, and I cannot take it back.” So she said to him, “My father, you have given your word to the LORD; do to me as you have said, since the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the sons of Ammon.” She said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me; let me alone two months, that I may go to the mountains and weep because of my virginity, I and my companions.” Then he said, “Go.” So he sent her away for two months; and she left with her companions, and wept on the mountains because of her virginity.

At the end of two months she returned to her father, who did to her according to the vow which he had made; and she had no relations with a man. Thus it became a custom in Israel, that the daughters of Israel went yearly to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year. – Judges 11:30-40 (NASB)

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In the 1980s Jim Henson’s production company produced a series called “The Storyteller”. One of the stories, titled “Hans My Hedgehog”, was very similar to the story of Jephthah (although slightly less gruesome).

Unlike the familiar story of Isaac, this one ends without divine intervention. Jephthah fulfilled his promise and killed his daughter in God’s name. No ram was heard bleating from the thicket. No protest was issued from the clouds. No tomb was erected to mark the place where she lay.

But the women of Israel remembered.

Wrote the narrator, “From this comes the Israelite tradition that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah” (vv. 39–40).

They could not protect her life, but they could protect her dignity by retelling her story—year after year, for four days, in a mysterious and subversive ceremony that perhaps led the women of Israel back to the same hills in which Jephthah’s daughter wandered before her death. It was a tradition that appears to have continued through the writing of the book of Judges. But it is a tradition lost to the waxing and waning of time, no longer marked by the daughters of the Abrahamic faiths.

Evans then goes on to write about taking the time to remember all of the “dark stories of the Bible“; that is, those stories in which people (particularly women) are abused, tortured, maimed, and killed. She writes about spending time to remember Hagar and Tamar and the concubine from Judges 19 and women across the centuries who have been used as objects by their culture and family.

Jephthah should not have sacrificed his daughter, because his daughter was not an object to possess. His daughter already belonged to God. You cannot sacrifice something that does not belong to you.

We need to spend time in honest reflection on how we treat the people around us. Are there classes of people which we treat as objects to be used? The poor, ethnic minorities, women, the homeless, work subordinates? People are not objects for us to use for our pleasure or sacrifice for our benefit. We need to remember those who have been treated as less than human, and we need to work toward creating a world in which no people are treated as objects.

Application:

Find and support or volunteer at an organization in your community that brings people out of some form of bondage.

Eliminate one habit from your life that may keep others in bondage.

Think of one relationship you have in which you treat the other person as less than equal; repair that relationship.

Queries:

Do I treat all people as children of God worthy of honor and respect?

What relationships do I have in which I am treated as an object?

What habits do I have that keep others in bondage (drug use, pornography use, inequitable consumer goods, etc.)?

The LORD said to the sons of Israel, “Did I not deliver you from the Egyptians, the Amorites, the sons of Ammon, and the Philistines?…”Yet you have forsaken Me and served other gods; therefore I will no longer deliver you. “Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your distress.” The sons of Israel said to the LORD, “We have sinned, do to us whatever seems good to You; only please deliver us this day.” So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD; and He could bear the misery of Israel no longer. – Judges 10:11-16 (NASB)

***

Sin has horrible consequences that we all suffer. Too often I assume that I am only hurting myself with my sin; but, my sin affects my family, my friends, my church, and my community.

Sin has communal consequences. There is a reason that the Bible often speaks of the consequences of sin being a curse on an individual’s children and children’s children. It takes a long time for all of the consequences of sin to play out. It also takes a concerted effort on the part of those dealing with the consequences to break the cycle of sin.

Every sin is a nuclear explosion scattering radioactive debris in all directions. Do not brush it off just because you see it as a small sin. You would not brush off the threat of a small nuclear bomb going off in your backyard. The consequences of sin, big or small, reverberate over space and time and affect everyone.

Everyday we have the opportunity to choose God or to choose some other god. There are a multitude of things that I can make the center of my life; but, when I put something other than God at the center of my life, I have fallen into sin and the consequences of that sin will ultimately hurt all those around me.

Application:

Choose right now to make God the center of your life for the rest of today.

Every morning consciously make the decision that God will be the center of your life that day.

Write down how your sings are negatively impacting those around you. Pick one person and work to correct the impact of your sin.

Queries:

What have you chosen as the center of your life?

How has the sin of others affected you? How has your sing affected others?

And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother’s relatives, and spoke to them and to the whole clan of the household of his mother’s father, saying, “Speak, now, in the hearing of all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you, that seventy men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you, or that one man rule over you?’ Also, remember that I am your bone and your flesh.” And his mother’s relatives spoke all these words on his behalf in the hearing of all the leaders of Shechem; and they were inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our relative.” They gave him seventy pieces of silver from the house of Baal-berith with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless fellows, and they followed him. Then he went to his father’s house at Ophrah and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, for he hid himself. All the men of Shechem and all Beth-millo assembled together, and they went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar which was in Shechem. – Judges 9:1-6 (NASB)

Death Of Abimelech by Gustave Dore

But a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head, crushing his skull. Then he called quickly to the young man, his armor bearer, and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, so that it will not be said of me, ‘A woman slew him.’” So the young man pierced him through, and he died. When the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, each departed to his home. Thus God repaid the wickedness of Abimelech, which he had done to his father in killing his seventy brothers. Also God returned all the wickedness of the men of Shechem on their heads, and the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal came upon them. – Judges 9:53-57 (NASB)

Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. – Matthew 26:52 (NASB)

***

Violence creates more violence.

The self-perpetuating cycle of violence is never broken through passive action or retribution. To break a cycle of violence a person, group, culture, or nation must make the active decision to stop the cycle. This decision has consequences, most of them unpleasant, and there is no guarantee that those who make the active decision will live to see the fruits of their decision. The decision to break a cycle of violence is a decision that is made for the benefit of those that come after the deciders.

Violence is not limited to nations at war or nations carrying out war like actions. We can be violent with our words when we gossip, bully, or create ill will against a person. We can be violent with our actions when we push others down in order to elevate ourselves. We can be accomplices to violence when we allow our nation to indefinitely detain other humans without trial, carry out assassinations via unmanned drones or special operations units, or engage in the retributive executions, disguised as justice, of criminals.

We are perpetuating the cycle of violence through many of our every day actions and through our inaction in holding our society responsible for its violent acts.

Application:

Make a list of the violence you perpetuate through both your actions and your inaction.

Correct one of your violent actions this week.

Speak up regarding the violence carried out in your name by your government.

Queries:

Are my words and actions perpetuating violence?

What acts of violence have I committed against my neighbors in the past day? Week? Month? Year?